


Vision Decides to Try Therapy

by Rjslpets



Series: Therapeutic Conversations [7]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Post-Civil War (Marvel), Therapy is awesome even for androids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-09-01 22:51:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8641252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rjslpets/pseuds/Rjslpets
Summary: Vision has been thinking about his relationship with Wanda in the wake of the Civil War. Tony Stark suggests that hir talk to Tony's therapist.





	

**Author's Note:**

> There is some mention of violence in intimate relationships - so please take care if that is an issue for you.
> 
> Also, violence is never acceptable - http://www.ncadv.org/
> 
> I was troubled by the violence that Wanda did to Vision in the movie - it seemed so out of proportion to the relationship between them and the actions that were going on around them. I thought that Vision should talk to someone.

To say that Dr. Soren was nonplussed would be an understatement. There had been nothing in her education to deal with this situation and she did not like flying blind. But she had sworn an oath to help those who came to her to the extent of her abilities and she thought that her abilities might stretch this far. “Let me repeat your request so that we are in agreement about what we are going to discuss. You want to speak with me about the possible future state of your relationship with Wanda Maximoff; specifically, you want to have my advice on pursuing a relationship with her after the events of the argument? Is that correct?”

The android nodded. “Yes” he/she (which is it?) replied, “I am finding myself ambivalent about the possibility of continuing our relationship. As Mr. Stark might have mentioned, I have the ability to communicate with Wanda without adverse consequences legally and I find myself in some confusion over the best course of action.”

“OK, so…” Dr. Soren paused, thinking of how to word this to the android, “do you think that Wanda feels something for you beyond friendship? I am guessing, based on your question, that you would like something beyond friendship with her.”

“I have developed unusually warm feelings towards Wanda and I believe what she feels for me is different than what she feels towards others on the team. So I think the answer is yes, she does feel something for me beyond friendship, although we have not talked about it.”

“Well, perhaps we could start with laying out the nature of your relationship before the argument and how the events between the two of you played out? I have, of course, heard several versions of these events, but I have not heard yours.”

“Of course, that is logical. Wanda and myself were friends and often training partners. We practiced together and spent significant recreational time together. We would watch movies and she would assist me in learning to cook. We were both at the Compound for the discussion after Secretary Ross presented the Accords. After Mr. Rogers and Mr. Wilson left for London, Mr. Stark and Ms. Romanoff decided to go to Vienna to address the committee that was in charge of the Accords to present the Avengers’ concerns with the document. Mr. Stark asked me to stay behind with Wanda and to try to keep her in the Compound. He told me that due to the events in Lagos, Wanda was in danger of losing her visa and he was worried that if she was outside the Compound, someone might attack or harass her and that would cause an incident that would make the volatile situation worse. This seemed logical to me. I understand, looking back, that I or Mr. Stark should have discussed our concerns candidly with Wanda. But he left hurriedly and we did not.”

“So you and Wanda were in the Compound together? Was that unusual?”

“No, Wanda and I were friends and spent time together. The other Avengers were often away or busy and so we ‘hung out’ – I believe that is the term. I am interested in cooking and I was trying to make her a special dish to raise her spirits as she was very upset over the events in Lagos. Perhaps, it would make the situation more understandable if you saw a recording of the events of that evening?”

“If you think that will make it easier for me to understand and assist you that would be fine with me.”

They watched the surveillance video of the events at the Compound in silence. Dr. Soren made some notes as she watched on areas that she wanted to consider. When the video was finished, Dr. Soren considered her notes and asked, “What were the two of you discussing when the attack occurred? The original attack on you, I mean.”

“We were discussing the nature of perception, specifically the public’s perception of Wanda. She was very disturbed that most people seem to view her as a weapon or as someone to be feared. I was assuring her that I did not see her that way and that I would like to share my perception with the world. We also discussed why I did not want her to leave the Compound. She said that she could not control other people’s fear of her.”

“That’s a disingenuous statement for her to make, don’t you think?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, I could understand if people were afraid of her simply because she had unusual powers, but the fear that you two were discussing was based on her actions that resulted in the death of over 30 people. If you see someone throw a bomb into a building, you are going to regard that person with suspicion.”

“She did not intend to harm anyone in Lagos.”

“Nonetheless, she did so and she used her powers to do it. Even if people understood it as an accident, they would still be rightly concerned that she had insufficient control to prevent her from causing problems in the future. That she had put herself in a position where her actions could cause significant harm without sufficient control to prevent that harm. Did she not feel any concern about her ability to control her powers after what happened in Lagos?”

“I do not believe that she did. She seemed to believe that it was an accident and beyond her control.” The android paused and then continued, “I do see your point I believe. When I used my abilities and the accident to Col. Rhodes happened, I decided to stop using that particular ability until I had tested it more and had obtained more expertise in its use. Wanda did not seem to believe that she was at fault or that her control was not what it should be. She also did not seem to perceive that this lack of control over such power would understandably make other people nervous. She felt that her use of her powers was justified and that she could not have ‘saved everyone’ as Mr. Rogers said.”

“Objectively, as an outside observer, she seems to have a pattern of using her powers in ways that cause significant collateral damage. Her actions in Lagos and at the airport both portray her as someone who uses her abilities without consideration of the possible consequences and that would make people wary of her. In a way, she is like someone who has lied in the past and then complains that no one believes her now. People are afraid of her based on her actions and that means that she would need to act differently if she wanted to mitigate that fear; not continue to act the same way. But let us return to the events under consideration, you were discussing why you thought she should stay in the Compound and then you were attacked. Now, did Wanda know that the attack was coming?”

“No, we were both surprised. I understand that Mr. Rogers called Mr. Barton and told him that Wanda was being held against her will at the Compound.”

“Did Wanda think she was being held against her will?”

“I don’t believe that she could have. She was unaware until about 10 minutes before the attack that we, myself and Mr. Stark, did not want her to leave the Compound.”

“Alright, if that is true…I am not sure that I understand her actions here. You, her friend, were attacked without provocation and she did not seem to take any action to help or protect you. In fact, she appears to escalate the violence and join in the attack? There is no audio so I am not sure what was said, but did something happen that would cause her to feel threatened?”

“Not that I am aware of. I proceeded to defend myself from Mr. Barton and he told Wanda that he was there to remove her from the Compound. I told her it was not a good idea and I told him that I would not allow that.”

“You said that you would not allow that? Did you mean that you would prevent her from leaving?”

“No, she had not indicated that she wished to permanently leave the Compound and if Mr. Barton took her with him, she could not return. I meant that I would not allow him to remove her without her consent. But…” now Vision paused, “I see,” ze proceeded slowly (Dr. Soren made a note to continue to use the ambiguous pronoun), “she might have heard that phrase as meaning I would force her to remain which I did not intend. That would explain her actions.”

“Well, not really. She had no reason to believe that you would be violent towards her; you had been talking calmly only a few minutes earlier and you had not indicated that you would do anything other than try and persuade her not to leave. She could have at least asked you what you meant by that comment before becoming violent. I am a little disturbed that she became so violent so quickly.” The android directed what she assumed was a questioning look at her, so she continued with her thought, “I believe that you were, at the time, the only member of the team that Wanda had never had a violent interaction with – is that true?”

“She did meet the other Avengers as adversaries and was, therefore, violent towards them.”

“But it was her choice to attack them, correct? They were not adversarial towards her at that time – she initiated the attacks. Regardless, my thought still stands; you are the only person with whom she has a significant relationship that had no violent interactions. So I find it very concerning that she would introduce violence without real provocation into the only relationship she had that was free of violent interaction.”

“You are concerned that Wanda is a violent person? I would not have characterized her as that.”

“But violence has been part of all her relationships except for the one with her brother. She is the only common denominator in all those relationships. If they all involve violence, then that says something about her. Even if we accept that the circumstances under which she met the other members of the team were extraordinary and were responsible for the violent interaction, we cannot use that excuse for her decision to attack you. And that leads me to the suspicion that she might employ violence commonly in relationships.” Dr. Soren considered the figure in front of her. “How much do you know about abusive people?”

“Not very much as I have never had occasion to review the information available.”

“Well, one of the commonalities is that they all see relationships in terms of power. An abuser abuses as that allows them to maintain power in a relationship and they believe that will protect them from whatever they are afraid of…betrayal, abandonment; the list can be endless. When I watch the video and hear your description of Wanda’s actions, I see a power play. By attacking you the way that she did, she was asserting power over you. And someone who feels the need to do that to a friend is not someone that knows how to have a healthy intimate relationship with anyone.”

“So you would not recommend that I pursue a relationship with Wanda?”

“In my professional opinion, I would not recommend that _anyone_ pursue an intimate relationship with someone who has already been violent towards them. It isn’t safe.”

The android nodded, “Thank you for your opinion and agreeing to meet with me. Mr. Stark was quite right; you have provided insight and clarity.”

Well, she thought to herself, this was definitely one for the medical journals.


End file.
